Editing V and W-class destroyer (section)

{{Short description|Class of Royal Navy destroyers built late in World War I}}
{{About|the 1917 destroyers|the World War II destroyers|U and V-class destroyer|and|W and Z-class destroyer}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=December 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2011}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:HMS Veteran model.jpg|300px]]
|Ship caption=HMS ''Veteran'', an Admiralty modified W ship, a model at the [[Glasgow Museum of Transport]]
}}{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=V and W
|Builders=
|Operators=*{{navy|United Kingdom}}
* {{naval|Australia|1913}}
|Class before=* {{sclass2|S|destroyer|4||1917}}
* {{sclass|Parker|flotilla leader|4}}
|Class after=[[Thornycroft type destroyer leader]]
{{HMS|Ambuscade|D38|2}} and {{HMS|Amazon|D39|2}}
|Subclasses=*Admiralty V-class leader
* Admiralty V class
* Admiralty W class
* Thornycroft V and W class
* Thornycroft modified W class
* Admiralty modified W class
|Cost=
|Built range=1916–1924
|In service range=1917–1945
|In commission range=
|Total ships planned=107
|Total ships completed=67
|Total ships cancelled=40
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships scrapped=
}}{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= (see below)
|Ship type=Destroyer
}}
|}
The '''V and W class''' was an amalgam of six similar [[ship class|classes]] of [[destroyer]] built for the [[Royal Navy]] under the 9th, 10th, 13th and 14th of fourteen [[War Emergency Programme destroyers|War Emergency Programme]]s during the [[First World War]] and generally treated as one class. For their time they were among the most powerful and advanced ships of their type in the world, and set the trend for future British designs.

They arrived in time to see service in the First World War. During the interwar period these ships formed the backbone of the Royal Navy's destroyer [[flotilla]]s until gradually replaced by new construction; by the mid-1930s most had been displaced to the [[Reserve Fleet (United Kingdom)|reserve fleet]]. Most ships survived to make an extensive contribution to the [[Second World War]] effort, in the vital role of [[Escort Group (naval)|convoy escort]], freeing up more modern ships for fleet action.